NY officials used Twitter to keep citizens up to date during Hurricane Sandy. But even before the storm, more and more local politicians are using social media to communicate with citizens. Councilmember David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn), who has 3,195 Twitter followers, said it’s about transparency. He told AMNY, “You’re not going to put out a news release for everything and my constituents want to know what I’m doing.” Greenfield is one of 42 council members with a Twitter and/or Facebook account. Councilmember Peter Vallone (D-Astoria) was hesitant to join social media at first, but now personally updates both his Twitter and Facebook accounts. He told AMNY, “I am the benevolent dictator of my Facebook page.”

When a cellphone is stolen, the NYPD routinely subpoenas phone call records to track down suspects. Call records from stolen cellphones are entered into the Enterprise Case Management System database. Phone numbers in the database are hyperlinked, allowing detectives to cross-reference it with other files. According to The New York Times, police are quietly compiling the data, without a court order, and using it for any investigation.

The subpoenas include calls made by the thief, but also calls by the victim. Records often include calls from the victim’s new cellphone after the stolen number is transferred to a new phone. Police documents indicate thousands of subpoenas are requested each year.

The data is often obtained without the victim’s consent or knowledge. Michael Sussmann, a lawyer representing wireless carriers, said, “If large amounts of victim phone records are being collected and added to a searchable database, it’s very troubling.” Sussmann suggested that police departments could limit subpoenas to the time between a phone was stolen until the victim has transferred the number.

Documents reviewed by the Times indicate subpoenaed phone logs often contain up to two weeks of information.

After Hurricane Sandy the NY tech community mobilized its resources and time to help with donations, rebuilding, and other relief efforts. Here is a round up of some different NY tech initiatives that are doing their part to help those affected by the storm:

WNYC‘s New Tech City reported on the efficiency of the recovery post-Sandy. Host Manoush Zomorodi spoke with NY Tech Meetup chairman Andrew Rasiej, who helped launch nytechresponds.org where over one thousand tech experts have offered to donate time to businesses and non-profits struggling from tech problems caused by Sandy. In DUMBO, Rasiej noted that the tech community has allied before– in the aftermath of September 11. This disaster led to the creation of the National Tech Corps, a group of techies that would be available after or during emergencies for tech support. However, neither the Bush or Obama administration focused on this initiative, but there are similar ideas in the works to ally the tech community on a national level. Rasiej said, “The NYTM is trying to show that we can provide critical tech support, and it shouldn’t just be the role of government to provide relief and recovery.” Rasiej suggested using open mapping, search databases to help people find lost loved ones, and equipment supply to help communities help one another post-disasters.

PC Mag covered the joint donation efforts of Tumblr and Humans of New York (HONY) photo blog in response to Sandy. In less than 24 hours, the fundraising team raised $100,000 for hurricane victims. HONY was started by Brandon Stanton, a NY photographer that set out to catalog the people of the city. The HONY Facebook page has over 424,000 fans and features daily photos of people that Stanton meets in NY. Tumblr and HONY dedicated the next ten days to helping Sandy victims, and reached their ten-day goal of $100,000 in one day. According to a spokeswoman for the campaign, the average donation is about $63. Tumblr and HONY are providing incentives and rewards for donations, including following HONY for a day. This prize can only be obtained by donation $2000+ dollars, so far three people will be shadowing Stanton. If you donate $30,000, HONY and Tumblr will gift you Stanton’s Canon EOS 7D, the camera that he uses for his photographs, this prize has yet to be claimed. All proceeds go directly to the Tunnel of Towers foundation which gives resources to areas hit hardest by the storm.

AMNY compiled a list of volunteers that came forward during Sandy to help out in the best way they knew how. Jessica Klein, Mozilla designer, grew up in Belle Harbor in the Rockaways. During Sandy her parents refused to evacuate Klein’s childhood home, and when she arrived at the scene the next day her parents were stranded on the second floor and her neighborhood was in shambles. Klein decided to use her technology skills to help those in need. She created Rockawayhelp.com to coordinate volunteers and distribute donations, answer insurance questions, and address problems with power restoration. Before long, Klein was meeting with FEMA officials and organizing supplies for those in need. On Thursday her team joined up with Team Rubison, a disaster relief group, to do an intense clean up in the area. Nick Weissman of Williamsburg Brooklyn is a photographer who took pictures after the earthquake in Haiti. However, after Sandy Weissman felt like doing more than taking photos. He has been working with the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective to show Charlie Chaplin movies to antsy children and disabled people who have been stuck in shelters since Sandy. the collective also delivered food and other supplies to people in Coney Island. Additionally, Noah Reisman, a medical student at NY Methodist Hospital, volunteered his time and medical expertise to those in need of medical help after the storm.

Reuters reported on NY-based iPhone app Budge, which set out to make donating to charities a social effort. The app lets friends challenge each other in games and activities. The loser has to make a donation of either $1, $2, or $5 to one of the charities supported by the app. Hillan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Budge said,”For us it’s really about changing the way people think about donating. We are driving to change the culture and say you can have fun while you do good.” Though the donation price tags seem small, they can add up. Klein noted that some people end up donating $24 to $50 in the course of a month. The app is partnered with organizations like Breastcancer.org, World Food Programme USA, and more. However, Budge is looking for more charity partners to aid with Sandy relief. Budge is free and available in the US and Australia.

During Hurricane Sandy, government officials used a new alert system, which contacted anyone within an affected geographic area whose mobile device could get text messages, according to the New York Times. This was the first time the system was used in New York and now tech firms and the city are looking for other technology-related relief efforts. “It’s becoming very evident that just below filling basic needs of food, water and shelter is this connectivity issue, and connectivity can help fulfill other needs,” said Jessica Lawrence, the managing director of the New York Tech Meetup.

The New York Tech Meetup signed up over 800 potential volunteers to help build tools on the fly. One of the most useful has been the Sandy Coworking Crowdmap, which provided businesses displaced by the storm to find places to set up shop for free. Another relief project is Neepmapper, which allows people to text requests for volunteers or donations. The site then plots those requests on a map.

NY City and Airbnb have created a partnership to help connect victims of Hurricane Sandy with free short-term housing. According to the Huffington Post, Airbnb reported that it would not recoup commission fees from free listings in NY post-hurricane. The Airbnb site has seen last-minute bookings rapidly increase since the storm. Additionally, more than 100 members of the Airbnb community in NY volunteered to offer their homes for free to people affected by the Hurricane.

One poster, who was offering an apartment for free with five sleeping arrangements, wrote, “You’re more than welcome to stay through the storm. People have helped me when I was screwed, and I really want to offer what I can to help you.” Another poster offering her upper East side apartment wrote, ““Hopefully this will workout and I can keep someone from dealing with the darkness downtown or being in a shelter until things begin to turn around. I welcome the company!”

]]>http://nyconvergence.com/2012/11/nyc-and-airbnb-partner-to-offer-free-housing-for-sandy-victims.html/feed0Growing NY Tech Sector to Challenge Silicon Valley, Says Cutler #CornellNYCTechhttp://nyconvergence.com/2012/11/growing-tech-sector-positions-nyc-to-overtake-silicon-valley.html
http://nyconvergence.com/2012/11/growing-tech-sector-positions-nyc-to-overtake-silicon-valley.html#respondThu, 08 Nov 2012 14:44:05 +0000http://nyconvergence.com/?p=58522[Full Story…]]]>NY is atop a list of cities challenging Silicon Valley for tech supremacy, according to Zach Cutler of The Cutler Group. In an op-ed in The Huffington Post, Cutler states that the city is the fastest-growing tech hub in the U.S., and that according to the Center for an Urban Future, tech related jobs have increased by 28.7 percent in the past five years.

Big startups such as Etsy, Kickstarter and Kaltura are based here and corporate tech companies including eBay, Facebook and Google opened NY offices. He also refers to local incentives in the article, including Mayor Bloomberg’s push to establish technology as a major government priority and Roosevelt Island’s forthcoming Cornell NYC Tech science and engineering campus.

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Barack Obama has again been elected President by the American people. During his second term, he is under a lot of pressure in terms of the technology sector. According to ReadWrite, President Obama stressed the importance of technology during his speech early this morning, saying that the U.S. should be, “A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation. With all the new jobs and new businesses that follow.”

ReadWrite compiled a list of what to expect from President Obama on top technology issues moving forward and here are some of the highlights:

Broadband: During his first term, President Obama promised to “get true broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation’s wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives” under the National Broadband Plan. Currently, anywhere from 90-95% of U.S. communities now have access to broadband-speed Internet access. About 87% of the National Broadband Plan own has been completed to date. It’s expected that President Obama will continue moving forward with this plan.

SOPA: The Obama administration is also known for opposing SOPA, a bi-partisan bill that, if passed, would give a lot of power to copyright holders and media companies in blocking the distribution of copy written materials, without due process. The Obama administration, responding to an online petition against the bill, noted that it wouldn’t sign any legislation into law that would support censorship or potentially harm business. But the administration still stand by the view that intellectual property theft is a serious danger to the U.S. economy and should be stopped. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to guess that there might be a compromise “SOPA-like legislation” signed into law.

Net Neutrality: Obama is a verified supporter of net neutrality, a big issue for telecommunications companies that would rather not have the FCC regulate how they handle traffic and charge for it. Obama has been a net neutrality backer since the beginning, and will most likely continue supporting this policy, even though Verizon has sued the government to overturn the FCC’s net neutrality laws.

Cyber Security: The Obama Administration has been somewhat active in boosting the nation’s response to cyber attacks. Recent signals from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta have hinted that the Pentagon is about to unveil new rules about cyber security, which may include a more offensive view. It is very probable that similar cyber security efforts will continue during Obama’s second term.

It’s election time again, which also marks NBC’s transformation of Rockefeller Center into Democracy Plaza. The plaza recently opened and has interactive features powered by Windows 8. According to NBC, the interactive exhibits include: replicas of the Oval Office and White House press room where visitors can take and share photos, a video booth designed for a mock NBC report, and caricature stations where visitors will be drawn next to either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. The caricatures will be created using the Fresh Paint app for Windows.

Additionally, Democracy Plaza will be the home of the Decision 2012 coverage for NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, NBC News Channel, NBC 4 New York and many others. On election night, thousands are expected to gather for the election results. The famous Rockefeller skating rink will display all fifty states marked in either red or blue for the two parties.

According to the NY Daily News, technology has led to an increase in peeping tom cases in NY. Over the last ten years, people being prosecuted for crimes like taking photos up women’s skirts has increased because of better quality cellphone cameras. The Daily News reported that, “Statewide, the number of cases of unlawful surveillance using cell phone cameras, pen cameras or other spy gear has nearly doubled from last year — and Manhattan has nearly 80% of the cases, roughly 70 so far this year.”

Since the iPhone was released in 2007, the number of arrests have risen compared to there being no arrests for this crime in 2003. Most of those arrested never take their case to trial because a majority plead guilty for their crimes.

English: Andrew Cuomo, 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and 64th New York State Attorney General as a candidate for Governor of New York, outside of City Hall, little American flags on his tie. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan that will give New Yorkers the ability to access permits and conduct various state business online. The new initiative will also encourage software developers to create a “New York app store” according to NY Post. The plan will supposedly save taxpayers $100 million a year. Free and detailed records from the state will be available in the cloud and are intended to propel software developers to create apps with the information.

An administration official said, “The governor wants the state to be more like Apple, Microsoft or Google. We’re a high-tech state in the private sector and we’re going to become a high-tech state in the public sector so that people can use their iPhones or iPads to access state services.We’re looking to do everything online in the future.”

The 2012 election is a week away, but for the NY tech community, the bigger question lies in what the winning candidate will do for Internet access in the United States. Last week at NYU’s Stern School of Business, the NY Tech Meetup hosted an event with SF-based Engine Advocacy to discuss the open Internet and the 2012 Election. The panel featured Clay Shirky, NYU professor and tech guru, Fred Wilson, venture capitalist for Union Square Ventures and author of A VC blog, and Susan Crawford, professor at Benjamin N. Cordozo School of Law and former Special Assistant for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy for President Barack Obama. Moderating the event was Andrew Rasiej, chairman of NY Tech Meetup and senior advisor to the Sunlight Foundation.

The night began with a discussion of the letters sent to NY Tech Meetup from each presidential candidiate last week. “Obama has done good stuff on crowdfunding,” Wilson said about the letters, “He actually gets it. So I think the words in the Obama letter are way better than the words in the Romney letter. The Romney letter is boilerplate.” Before long, the topic had shifted to the reasons why tech has fallen out from the political discussion. Shirky cited the negative effects that recessionary times can have on innovation. All three panelists agreed that there had been a disappointing lack of action from Obama, and that they feared they would see even less from Governor Romney if elected.

A large portion of the night centered on laws like SOPA and PIPA and how government regulation thwarts the efficiency of Internet. The three panelists asked for government participation on the local level for issues with innovation. Government involvement and knowledge of the tech industry was highlighted. “I’m worried about state by state or city by city regulations,” Shirky said, “especially with things like telecomm.”

The second half of the night the panelists answered questions from the audience, which had attendees like David Lerner, entrepreneur and angel investor, in addition to others who had been involved in the intersection of tech and politics, like Kathryn Peters, cofounder of Turbovote. Questions ranged from venture capital to the prospect of jobs in the United States. One final takeaway that Shirky left for the crowd was, “The [open] Internet means not having to ask anyone permission before trying something.”

HARTFORD, CT – OCTOBER 5: Stamford Mayor and Democratic nominee Dannel Malloy (L) looks on as former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, businessman and Republican nominee Tom Foley speaks during their televised debate at the Belding Theater inside the Bushnell Center for Performing Arts October 5, 2010 in Hartford, Connecticut. Malloy and Foley, who are in a close race for Governor, spoke about creating jobs, the death penalty among other issues. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Recently, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced the launch of the state’s Innovation Ecosystem, which is a partnership meant to spark development of new technology, acceleration and creation of innovative companies. According to Stamford Plus, the ecosystem has two main components. The first is that four different locations will be chosen as hubs for providing various resources and locations for coworking spaces. The four places chosen were: Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, and Storrs. Second, the resources across these locations will be connected and will allow the state to track particular economic development in the entrepreneurial sector.

Connecticut’s Innovation Ecosystem is expected to make the state more desirable for entrepreneurs and startups. Chuck Pagano, incoming chairman of the Connecticut Technology Council (CTC), and Chief Technology Officer at ESPN, said, “Connecticut’s Innovation Ecosystem gives us an engine for collaboration that connects our technology entrepreneurs to the full spectrum of resources available in our state, opening a route for entrepreneurs and investors to create the most competitive economy possible.”

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 21: Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page speaks during a news conference at the Google offices on May 21, 2012 in New York City. Google announced today that it will allocate 22,000 square feet of space in its New York headquarters to CornellNYC Tech while the university completes its new campus on Roosevelt Island. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Recently, NYC Digital hosted its second annual Engage NYC: Digital Media in Government summit. The event took place at Google‘s headquarters in New York. Presentations covered topics like digital communications and the state of the digital city in addition to an awards ceremony for outstanding work in digital media.

William Floyd of Google and Rachel Hoat, the City’s Chief Digital Officer, started off the event and surprised their guests with a keynote speech from David Karp, founder of Tumblr. Karp spoke about NY’s digital presence. Additionally, a new panel discussion called “Strategic Digital Media and Your Agency” was introduced and covered challenges for government in dealing with social media. Next, Hoat and Digital Communications Director Ivy Li presented on the city’s progress in digital over the last year.

Representatives from Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Tumblr also spoke about social media strategies. Facebook’s Policy Manager Katie Harbath talked about virality of content and Facebook’s Timeline feature. Twitter’s Director of Business marketing, Glenn Otis Brown, presented on the growth of Twitter and the site’s new features. Google’s head of Media Outreach, Sally Simms, discussed various Google+ features. Tumblr’s Director of Outreach, Liba Rubenstein, talked about the site’s NY presence.

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 21: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) and Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page pose for a photograph after a news conference at the Google offices on May 21, 2012 in New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

In its quest to become a tech startup capital to rival the likes of Silicon Valley, NY has been making progress. According to the Associated Press, there have been numerous signs that NY is moving in the right direction -including examples such as:

Google and Facebook increasing their presence in NY in recent years

The ongoing development of the CornellNYCTech applied science campus on Roosevelt Island

Columbia University and NYU getting $15 million apiece in incentives from the city to create new technology programs

According to the AP, Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said, after a closed-door discussion Mayor Michael Bloomberg convened with tech-sector leaders this month, that “Over the last few years, what we’ve seen over and over again is a commitment to make New York City a viable alternative to Silicon Valley and a place where true innovation occurs.”

Although NY is making significant strides towards becoming a tech startup capital, there are still many obstacles in its way. Entrepreneurs say NY faces particular challenges, including poor broadband access in some areas and also a lack of tech talent.

Walter Russel Mead, professor of foreign affairs and humanities at Bard College, wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal about the type of government involvement needed to assist the economy. Mead notes that today’s economy is in need of a different type of investment- ‘infostructure.’ He wrote, “Internet connectivity and bandwidth are going to improve so that today’s technologies behind services like Skype are going to change beyond recognition…We are going to have more, better and cheaper alternatives to traditional business and commuting travel patterns, and our society will find it more and more natural and desirable to shift from expensive, time-consuming travel in “meat space” to doing business online.”

He also insists that the improvement of technology will allow us to utilize already existing infrastructure more efficiently. Mead argues, “We aren’t going to need 20 lanes in either direction on the New Jersey Turnpike by 2050, or $100 billion high-speed rail projects, to save us from national gridlock.” Instead, he calls for more investment in moving information through the Internet.

Torrent Freak released a list of BitTorrent usage at universities, and NYU came in at second place. Despite most universities’ anti-piracy policies, college students still participate in illicit file-sharing on their school networks. NYU totaled at about 986 hits behind Rutgers, in first place, with 1809 hits. In 2010, the U.S. Government started requiring universities to stop the illegal sharing which threatened some schools federal funding. Though BitTorrent is the most heavily monitored file-sharing platform, illegal sharing still persists.

At a recent NY Tech Meetup, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park outlined the Obama Administration’s plans to work more closely with tech startups.

A majority of Park’s work has been with five projects aimed at harnessing technology to improve government services. Before becoming CTO in March, Park co-founded two health IT companies. According to Inc, he said, “The most exciting and entrepreneurial experience I’ve ever had has been working in the U.S. government for the past three years. I’ve been functioning as a tech entrepreneur-in-residence inside the government.” The five projects include the following:

The Open Data Initiative- an effort to make government data machine-readable and accessible to all citizens.

RFP-EZ- a campaign to streamline the contracting process for tech start-ups which makes it easier to sell to the government. The federal IT market is about $80 billion.

MyGov- a system that will allow citizens to access government services more easily online.

Better Than Cash (formerly the 20% Initiative)- a program to introduce electronic and mobile payment systems to developing countries to facilitate the distribution of aid resources.

Blue Button for America- an effort to boost the portability of health data by enabling citizens to download their information online.

Additionally, Park encouraged Tech Meetup attendees to contribute to the Presidential Innovation Fellows. Park believes that government data will help innovation across a variety of sectors.

A few weeks ago, NY Tech Meetup sent a letter to both Governor Romney and President Obama asking for an explanation about how their individual policies will benefit the NY startup community. The letter detailed the “renaissance in startup innovation in NYC that now rivals Silicon Valley,” and stressed the importance of keeping this culture thriving. Both candidates responded in time for NY Tech Meetup’s October 9th meeting.

Romney laid out his plan to “strengthen the american economy by empowering entrepreneurs and workers and rewarding innovation.” The plan contained a breakdown for human capital, taxes, regulation, trade, education, and basic research. His letter detailed lowering the corporate tax rate and investing in innovation in the educational sector. He ended with, “As president, I will emphasize policies that once again make America the best place int he world to make a discovery, start a business, hire a worker, or find a job.”

Obama’s letter thanked NY Tech Meetup for its entrepreneurial spirit. He mentioned, “expanding broadband networks to connect businesses large and small with markets all around the world.” Additionally, Obama cited his implementation of a U.S. Technology Officer when he entered office, whose job is to harness government data in terms of energy, education, public safety, and other sectors. He ended his letter with a look forward and wrote, “That is the legacy of Edison and Bell. That is the Story of Google and Twitter. That is what landed NASA’s Curiosity on Mars, reminding us that our preeminence…depends on investing wisely in innovation, technology and basic research.”

An employee from the NY State Assembly was reprimanded for posting comments under a pseudonym on the Internet to defend the way Speaker Sheldon Silver handled a sexual harassment scandal. According to the NY Times, the employee’s name isBill Eggler, 48 years old, and he may have been doing his postings to the Internet on state time. The comments posted under the pseudonym, Sophia Walker, appear to have been posted since 2010. Eggler works in the Assembly’s correspondence unit and is being reprimanded, including no further access to the Internet. Eggler also used the Walker pseudonym for other contexts online.

In a story posted by The Times Union of Albany, Eggler used the Sophia Walker name to praise Speaker Silver’s handling of sexual harassment accusations against Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez in the comment section. Lopez was censured this summer by Silver after he was accused of harassment from two female employees, but it was later found out that Silver had authorized a confidential settlement with two women who had accused Lopez.

MTA Chief Joseph Lhota‘s Twitter account is unique among NY’s politicians, reporters and city officials. He runs his Twitter on his own, and doesn’t allow for much shame or editing. According to the NY Times, Lhota has enthusiastically tweeted about the cancellation of “Jersey Shore,” and has even admitted to Twitter typos because of having too much to drink. His handle is @JoeLhota and he tends to type in all caps. In response to an article about a man starting a fire after microwaving his underwear, Lhota tweeted, “SOME PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS.”

Lhota joined Twitter in August 2011. Julie Wood, spokesperson for the mayor and proprietor of the office’s Twitter said, “People think of the M.T.A. as a nameless, faceless bureaucracy and a huge organization that no one really has their arms around. Here is the guy who does have his arms around it, and he turns out to be this funny, interesting person.” Lhota will not respond to user complaints about commutes or transportation problems, as these should be directed to the MTA itself. However, the MTA Chief does enjoy getting attention on the social media site, but would like to keep his followers at a modest amount.

English: Charles Schumer, United States Senator from New York Español: Charles Schumer, Senador de los Estados Unidos de Nueva York (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NY Senator Charles E. Schumer recently introduced the “BRAINS Act” at New York General Assembly, which is intended to reform the U.S. visa system in order to encourage the world’s best and brightest to stay in America, according to JewishVoiceNY. The new act is aimed at fixing the NY tech industry’s shortage of highly qualified engineers.

The legislation proposes a pilot program through which 55,000 new green cards per-year will be available for foreign students who graduate from U.S. universities with degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields. There has been a long-existing problem in America’s visa system that forces many of the world’s smartest students to return to their country of origin after school.

“It makes no sense that America is educating the world’s smartest and most talented students and then, once they are at their full potential and mastered their craft, kicking them out the door,” said Schumer. “We should be encouraging every brilliant and well-educated immigrant to stay here, build a business here, create wealth here, employ people here, and grow our economy.”

NY Governor Cuomo announced recently a new data sharing initiative that uses a secure Internet portal that gives law enforcement agencies instantaneous access to information which is housed by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The information includes photos of all New York State drivers and non-drivers, vehicle registrations, drivers’ lifetime driving histories, real time alerts of traffic violations and other changes to a driver’s record.

“This initiative adds another tool for law enforcement, making it easier for them to identify, find and arrest suspects,” Governor Cuomo said. “Providing better access to DMV information is part of an ongoing effort to make state government more productive, effective and streamlined.”

NY State Supreme Court Judge Matthew A. Sciarrino Jr. ruled yesterday that Twitter has to turn over post and background information from Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris by Sept. 14. If Twitter does not produce Mr. Harris’s posts, than they must provide the court with its earnings statements from the last two quarters so that Sciarrino can decide on a fine.

Sciarrino ruled on June 30 that Twitter must turn over Harris’s account information, who was arrested on October 1 with about 700 protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge. Twitter asked for a stay that would block enforcement of the order while it appealed Sciarrino’s decision, but that request was denied on September 7.

According to Bloomberg, Harris was charged with disorderly conduct and the subpoena includes the request for the IP address he logged in from, direct messages, deleted messages, how long each login lasted, dates, time, and possible location information.

English: New York State Capitol viewed from the south, located on the north end of the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tech savvy public employees were recognized this week for their innovative uses of technology. The State of New York and e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government Technology honored state employees at the Best of New York 2012 Awards.

Among the winners, Nirav Shah of the NYS Commissioner of Health, was awarded the Governor Hugh L. Carey Leadership Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship. He was honored for work on an open government initiative making public health datasets available on the Dept. of Health website. In addition, he also pursued initiatives to make the state a hub for high tech jobs and standardized the exchange of health information among public health departments, doctors and the CDC.

The Latin Media and Entertainment Commission is now under the auspices of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. In addition to advising NY on business strategies for Hispanic media and entertainment businesses, the Commission will expand production and media businesses in the city.

In return, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment will share resources and promote Latino media in the city.

The hacker group Antisec claimed it broke into NY FBI agent Christopher Stangl’s laptop and found the unique ID numbers of 12 million Apple devices. It published one million of the stolen IDs on the Internet. The FBI released a statement yesterday saying the agency had “no evidence” that it ever possessed information that was allegedly contained in the computer belonging Agent Christopher Stangl.

The group said that the information included the cellphone numbers, addresses and names of users. Antisec said making the information publicly available will allow people to realize the FBI “is using your device info for a tracking people project or some sh—t.”

NJ Governor Chris Christie has recently launched Twitter and Tumblr accounts in order to provide information on his upcoming keynote address and his travels surrounding the Republican National Convention. Christie has already posted a clip of former NJ Gov. Tom Kean Sr. embracing Christie after he became the state’s chief executive in 2010, according to CBS NY. There is another picture of Christie practicing his keynote speech on his Tumblr page.

This is not the first time Governor Christie has used the Internet for political purposes. Christie and the Democratic-controlled legislature in NJ have been involved in an ongoing graphics war via email. The graphics from both parties have been distributed by email to a number of political insiders and reporters and are intended to subconsciously shape opinions. According to the Wall Street Journal, these emails are an example of how both parties are using cheaper and low-tech strategies to deliver negative messages.

Half a year since LulzSec mastermind and NYer Hector “Sabu” Monsegur was sentenced on 12 counts of violating federal law, he is being granted a six-month reprieve in exchange for continued work for the feds. Sabu’s work intends to strengthen the FBI’s case against his former cohorts, as according to Gizmodod, Sabu betrayed all of Anonymous, the most notorious and influential hackers of the day.

Sabu and LulzSec, an offshoot of Anonymous, carried out attacks against the CIA, FBI, Sony, and numerous other corporate and government targets.

Recently, a new layer of data from local governments, called Cities.data.gov, was added to the federal governments data portal, and features data sets from NY and three other major cities. According to Digital Communities, the purpose is to provide comparative data from different levels of the government, local and national, to assist the information used by software engineers. Hackathons primarily use open data from government agencies to create tech-based improvements. Cities.data.gov is the first project of the Group of 7 (G7), big city CIOs who are working together on issues of concern in their respective cities.

Jon Walton, G7 member from San Francisco said, “I think open data is bigger than any one city. Cities.data.gov represents an example of cities moving beyond doing data just for their city or just for their jurisdiction and starting to share data on a unified platform.”

This open data initiative represents a soft launch that includes data from four of the G7 members, and signifies the beginning of more to come. G7 members at various stages in their open data improvements hope they are setting an example that will motivate other government leaders to publish their local data sets.

]]>http://nyconvergence.com/2012/08/nyc-participates-in-shared-data-launch.html/feed1Roosevelt Island Campus, New Tech Hubhttp://nyconvergence.com/2012/08/nycs-roosevelt-island-campus-new-tech-hub.html
http://nyconvergence.com/2012/08/nycs-roosevelt-island-campus-new-tech-hub.html#commentsSat, 04 Aug 2012 18:02:11 +0000http://nyconvergence.com/?p=56605[Full Story…]]]>The signs that read “Roosevelt Island: A Fresh Look at the Big Apple,” will soon be true for the area, which is expecting a new complex of buildings meant to make a statement about 21st-century urban design and help transform NY into a lasting 21st-century economic presence. The graduate school, CornellNYC Tech, which is a cooperative venture between City Hall, Cornell University, and the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa is expected to help the Big Apple cement its place in the tech sector and assist in city Hall’s “plan for digital conquest,” according to the Daily Beast.

To complete the project, NY will provide land and about $100 million in funding, in addition to a $350 million donation made by Chuck Feeny, Cornell alumnus and duty-free magnate. The project is being taken on by Thom Mayne, LA-based architect, who also created the Cooper Union building in the East Village. Until the building is complete, students at CornellNYC Tech will be studying in Google’s Chelsea location that cost them $2 billion.

MayorBloomberg is ecstatic about the new campus, and told The Daily Beast that, “If intellectual capital is what you need, New York City is where you want to be.” The plans for NYC’s tech future were begun by Deputy Mayor Robert Steel and Seth Pinsky, head of the NYC Economic Development Corp.